- Email: [email protected]
Highlights of 1984 NASA activities
the achievement of all major objectives previously encompassed by the 11 orbit tour. There will be no near-term cost impact due to the incorporation of the flyby option. Major added costs, estimated at $20-25 million, are attributable to a five-month mission extension due to the delayed arrival date and increased tour time. The Galileo project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under the direction of the Office of Space Science and Applications, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
3.26. HIGHLIGHTS OF 1964 NASA ACTIVITIES”*’
For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the year 1984 proved to be a busy and productive one. Five Space Shuttle missions added to the already long list of space “firsts”: the first repair of a satellite in space; the first retrieval and return to Earth of two disabled satellites; the first satellite refuelling demonstration; the first flight of Discovery, the third Shuttle orbiter; the first Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; and the first space walk by an American woman. In the field of space science, two astronomers discovered a possible solar system revolving around the star Beta Pictoris, some 50 light years from Earth. Employing special optical and computer techniques, the astronomers, using a loo-inch telescope, photographed solid particles surrounding the star. Following President Reagan’s direction to NASA to develop a permanently manned Space Station within a decade, a Space Station programme office was established at NASA Headquarters and the Johnson Space Center, Houston, was designated the “lead centre” for definition and development. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation programme made significant strides towards establishing the world’s most advanced aerodynamic computerized facility to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of designing aircraft. An Office of Commercial Programmes was established at NASA Headquarters to support new commercial high technology ventures. The office is also tasked with supporting new commercial applications of existing technology and transferring existing space programmes to the private sector. Space Flight
The year 1984 saw fewer Space Shuttle launches than originally scheduled due to onboard systems problems during one of the planned launches and a larger refurbishment job than anticipated following one of the landings. There were five Shuttle missions, four Delta, one Atlas Centaur and one Atlas-F launch. NASA’s space vehicles placed three scientific, one weather, one Earth (“‘NASA
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observation and ten communications spacecraft into Earth orbit. Two of the communications satellites were later retrieved for repair. Three of the Shuttle flights were significant extensions of Earth orbit capabilities: the manned manoeuvring unit was flown for the first time allowing astronaut Bruce McCandless to become the first human satellite; the Solar Maximum Mission satellite was retrieved to the Shuttle payload bay and repaired and re-released into Earth orbit; and the wayward communications satellites, Westar VI and Palapa B- 2, were retrieved and returned to Earth for repair. NASA flew another new Shuttle orbiter, Discovery, and Shuttle orbiters landed at the Kennedy Space Center more times than at Edwards AFB including twice in a row during the Fall. Filament-wound solid rocket motor casings were tested successfully at Morton Thiokol’s facility in Utah. Commercial payload specialist Charles Walker from McDonnell Douglas Corp. flew to operate the company’s human biological sample seperation device in space. Space flight highlights in 1984 follow: 3 February: STS 41-B, Challenger. Vance Brand, Robert Gibson, Bruce McCandless II, Bob Stewart and Ron McNair crewed this flight which included the launch and retrieval of the German SPAS-01 subsatellite, the launch of the Westar VI and Palapa B-2 and the first flight of the manned manoeuvring unit. Westar and Palapa both failed to achieve proper transfer orbit due to PAM motor failure. First KSC landing on 11 February. I March: Delta launch of the Landsat 5 Earth resources survey satellite from the Western Space and Missile Center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This completed launchings in the Landsat series. 6 April: STS 41-C Challenger. Bob Crippen, Dick Scobee, George Nelson, Terry Hart and Jim van Hoften crewed the Solar Max repair mission which included the deployment of the Long Duration Exposure Facility. First repair of a satellite in orbit. Edwards landing on 30 April. 9 June: Atlas Centaur launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of Intelsat V-G. Due to upper stage malfunction, satellite failed to achieve proper orbit and was later deliberately re-entered by Comsat. I6 August: Delta launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Experiment (AMPTE), a joint US, British and German space physics mission involving three satellites. 30 August: STS 41-D, Discovery’s first flight, crewed by Hank Hartsfield, Mike Coats, Judy Resnik, Steve Hawley, Richard Mullane and Charlie Walker (first commercial payload specialist). Flight was postponed after initial launch problems and finally flown with combined cargo from two missions. Syncom IV-l, Telstar 3-C SBS-D were all successfully deployed from payload bay and OAST-1 solar array experiment was completed. Landing at Edwards AFB on 5 September. 105
21 September: Delta launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of Galaxy-C communications satellite. 5 October: STS 41-G, Challenger crewed by Bob Crippen, Jon McBride, Kathy Sullivan, Sally Ride, David Leestma, Marc Garneau and Paul ScullyPower. Successful launch of Earth Radiation Budget Satellite and successful operation of Large Format Camera and Shuttle Imaging Radar (B) for Earth surface science surveys. First flight of a Canadian, first two-woman flight, first on-orbit combination of Earth survey instruments with multi-discipline crew (Scully-Power as oceanographer, Sullivan as geologist), first American woman to walk in space and first use of Orbiter Refuelling System. Kennedy landing on 13 October. 8 November: STS 51-A, Discovery crewed by Rick Hauck, David Walker, Anna Fisher. Dale Gardner and Joe Allen. Successful deployment of Telesat H and Syncom IV-2 and successful retrieval of Westar. Double manned manoeuvring unit flights for retrieval operations. First flight of 3M Corporation’s space materials science laboratory. Landing at KSC on 16 November. 13 November: Delta launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of NATO III-D communications satellite. f2 December: Atlas-F launch from Western Space and Missile Center of NOAA-F climate survey and weather satellite for NOAA. Space Science and Applications
Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., discovered that exposure to a gravity-free environment may alter basic mechanisms affecting normal bone growth and development. The results originated from studies being carried out on the effects of spaceflight on animals. 1 March 1984 marked the launch of a new second generation Earth resources satellite, Landsat 5. A backup to the ailing Landsat 4, the spacecraft is the fifth in the series to provide timely, accurate and reliable data on Earth resources. After completion of its orbital checkout and activation by engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt. Md, NASA turned over the satellite to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Three US aerospace firms were awarded eight-month, $1 million contracts to conduct satellite definition studies for TOPEX, an oceanographic satellite mission proposed by NASA. The three firms selected were Fairchild Industries, Germantown, Md; RCA Corp., Princeton, N.J.; and Rockwell International, Downey, Calif. Dr. Michael Lampton of the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr. Byron Lichtenberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, were chosen to fly as payload specialists on the first Earth Observation Mission (EOM), scheduled for launch aboard the Space Shuttle in 1985. The EOM missions are a series of experiments that will measure the makeup of 106
the Earth’s middle and upper atmosphere and variations in the Sun’s output during an 11-year period. On 18 May, ownership of the Viking 1 lander was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum, marking the first object on another planet to be owned by a museum. The lander returned countless amounts of data on the Martian environment after it landed on the “Red Planet” in 1976. The Hubble Space Telescope’s five scientific instruments underwent acceptance testing at Goddard Space Flight Center. Greenbelt, Md, in 1984. The instruments were the High Resolution Spectrograph, the Faint Object Spectrograph, the Wide Field/Planetary Camera, the Faint Object Camera and the High Speed Photometer. The acceptance testing represented completion of the most critical element of the final checkout steps for the instruments before they are assembled aboard the observatory, scheduled for launch in 1986. NASA awarded a contract to an industry team headed by RCA AstroElectronics Systems Group for the design, development and fabrication of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). Scheduled for launch from the Space Shuttle in 1989, ACTS will be equipped with advanced switching and processing techniques using multi-beam antennas operating in the 20 and 30 gigahertz bands. NASA announced the start of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), a new astronomy satellite project that will be launched into Earth orbit from the Space Shuttle in 1988. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., the mission will make the first all-sky survey in the extreme ultraviolet band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Two astronomers discovered a possible solar system revolving around the star Beta Pictoris, some 50 light years from Earth. Employing special optical and computer techniques, the astronomers, using a loo-inch telescope, photographed solid particles, called a circumstellar disc, surrounding the star. The NOAA-F satellite was launched aboard an Atlas-F on 12 December, after 13 unsuccessful tries due to weather problems and instrumentation failure. The satellite is one in a series of meteorological and environmental information observatories that will provide special instrumentation to assist in search and rescue operations around the globe. The Galilieo mission to Jupiter may conduct a flyby of the asteroid 29 Amphitrite in December 1986 on its way to Jupiter. A launch decision to conduct the asteroid flyby will be made after launch in May 1986. The Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorer (AMPTE) mission created an artificial comet on 27 December to study the solar wind and the magnetosphere that surrounds the Earth. The project is a joint venture involving Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Aeronautics NASA’s aeronautical research and technology development efforts continued to expand US capabilites in civil, military and general aviation, 107
contributing significantly to US world aviation leadership and to national security. These efforts covered the spectrum of research disciplines and flight testing. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation programme made significant strides toward establishing the world’s most advanced aerodynamic computational facility, capable of achieving one billion operations each second to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of designing aircraft. Business and commercial transport aircraft successfully demonstrated the NASA-developed natural laminar flow concept which can increase the flight efficiency of future aircraft. As the result of single cylinder diesel testing, diesel engines, with their multi-fuel capability, can now be considered for use in general aviation aircraft. Joint NASA/Department of Defense programmes continued to insure the superiority of US military aviation. These programmes include the F-15, F-16, F-111, X-29, oblique and X-wing research aircraft, the tilt rotor/JVX aircraft and the convertible engine concept demonstration. NASA continued aviation safety research in lightning strikes, wind shear, icing, fireworthy materials, seats and restraint systems and aircraft crashworthiness. Space Technology
NASA space research and development programmes provide a reservoir of advanced technologies to enable US leadership in space operations, exploration and applications. Technology disciplines include propulsion, energy conversion, computer science and electronics, materials and structures, and aerothermodynamics. Significant progress was made in technologies for advanced reusable Earth-to-orbit propulsion systems and for orbital transfer vehicle propulsion. Similar advances have been realized in conversion systems in the space nuclear reactor programme, photovoltaic energy systems, regenerative fuel cell technologies and in energy storage. Major accomplishments were achieved in operator controls and displays for development of future free-flying, two-armed tele-operators. The Long Duration Exposure Facility, carrying 57 technological experiments, was placed in Earth orbit for a one-year exposure to the space environment. The solar array and supporting experiments were tested in Earth orbital flight during 1984. The solar array was extended to its full lostorey height and retracted several times. The Feature Identification and Location Experiment flew in space, demonstrating advanced sensor technology. Tracking and Data
Space Tracking and Data Systems provided tracking, command, telemetry 108
and data acquisition support for NASA missions in science, applications, space transportation and aeronautics. These tracking and data systems are in transition from the traditional ground-station network support of low Earth-orbiting spacecraft to the new mode with the successful implementation of the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite in geosynchronous orbit. Two additional Tracking and Data Relay Satellites will be placed in orbit next year, permitting the advanced space network mode to become operational . NASA’s Deep Space Network also is being upgraded in support of spacecraft exploration of the distant planets. These changes will enable receipt of weaker signals, support an increasing variety of spacecraft and provide more precise navigation.
Spuce Station President Reagan, in his State of the Union message on 25 January 1984, directed NASA to develop a permanently manned Space Station within a decade. He also invited friends and allies of the United States to participate in the programme and called for commercial private sector involvement. The President followed up this directive with a request for $150 million for the Space Station in the fiscal year 1985 budget for NASA. Congress subsequently approved this request and added $5.5 million in earlier appropriations to make a total of $155.5 million for the Space Station in the fiscal year 1985. NASA’s plans call for the Space Station to be operational in the early 1990s. It will be capable of growth in both size and capability and is intended to operate for several decades, well into the 21st century. It will be assembled at an altitude of about 300 miles in an orbit which will take it 28.5 degrees north and south of the equator. The Space Station will include a number of pressurized modules, support a crew of six to eight people and have two or more unmanned free-flying platforms. Some platforms will be co-orbiting with the base Space Station and will be serviced from the Space Station. At least one of them will be in a high inclination or polar orbit and will be serviced by the Space Shuttle. All elements of the Space Station will be launched and tended by the Space Shuttle. The Space Station will be designed to permit evolutionary growth. As better information is obtained from experience and as new requirements arise, new capabilities will be added to the Space Station. In response to the President’s directive and following his budget request for fiscal year 1985, NASA, in 1984 designated Johnson Space Center, Houston, as the “lead centre” for the Space Station Programme; established seven intercentre teams to conduct advanced development activities for high potential technologies to be used in Space Station design and development; assigned 109
definition and preliminary design responsibilities to four of its centres; established a Space Station Programme Office at NASA Headquarters to provide overall policy and programme direction; issued a Request for Proposal to US industry for definition and preliminary design of the Space Station. Proposals from industry were received in November. NASA is reviewing these proposals and expects to make competitive contract awards for four “work packages” in the Spring of 1985. The definition and preliminary design contracts will extend for 18 months. Contracts for hardware development and construction are scheduled for award in 1987. For the purposes of the Request for Proposal, NASA has selected a Space Station reference configuration called the “power tower? The power tower is one of a family of configurations that uses similar elements or components. The power tower family is considered a starting point for definition studies but it is expected to undergo significant modifications as the studies progress. Contractors may offer modifications within the reference concept family or other preliminary designs. A major objective of the Space Station Programme is to bring about participation by international partners. Funding for such participation will be provided by other governments who would conduct their own definition and preliminary design programmes in parallel with the NASA activity. Nations indicating an interest in the Space Station Programme are Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Federal Republic of Germany, and Italy. The latter four are member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) which will represent them in their activities with NASA with respect to the Space Station. Three categories of possible international participation are envisioned. These are: users who define missions and utilize Space Station capabilities; developers who participate in the definition and development activities and who contribute to the Space Station capabilites; and operators who support the operational activities of the Space Station. In September 1984, representatives of the interested countries reviewed the NASA Request for Proposal for the Space Station definition and preliminary design. Later several international workshops were conducted during which NASA and the international representatives exchanged information on their activities and plans with respect to the Space Station. The potential for international participation was also discussed at the London Economic Summit where President Reagan explained the US programme to the Prime Ministers of the other countries attending the Summit meeting. Other important Space Station Activities during 1984 include the establishment of a scientific advisory committee chaired by Dr. Peter Banks of Stanford University. This committee will provide expert advice to NASA on how the Space Station can best serve the various scientific communities. NASA also organized an Advanced Technology Advisory Committee which is identifying automation and robotic technologies which could be used in the Space Station. 110
Commercial Use of Space
In his State of the Union address January 1984, President Reagan stated that “we will soon implement a number of executive initiatives . . . to promote private sector investment in space”. In NASA’s fiscal year 1985 authorization legislation, the Congress amended the NASA Space Act of 1958 to state that “the general welfare of the United States requires that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration seek to encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space:’ To implement these and other planned activities, NASA established the Office of Commercial Programmes. The office was formed to take an active role in supporting three types of initiatives: new commercial high technology ventures; new commercial applications of existing technology; and unsubsidized initiatives for transferring existing space programmes to the private sector. A key focus of the Office of Commercial Programmes is support for a broad programme of basic research to establish a broader and firmer foundation for commercial space activities. This research programme has been underway with the ongoing NASA programme in the materials sciences. The Office of Commercial Programmes expects to augment this effort by providing NASA assistance in partnership with industry and the university community to establish new research activities and programmes. The basic knowledge expected to result from these efforts will provide the understanding of what can be done in space that cannot be done on Earth. It will also provide a better understanding of processes which can lead to improvements in Earth-based manufacturing processes. The knowledge and understanding resulting from the basic research activities will be a catalyst for new ideas and increased attention being given to the potential commercial uses of space. In addition, an outreach programme, directed at non-aerospace firms which have little involvement in space, will help inform potential prospects of the existing research results and ongoing NASA research with potential commercial space applications. International Afsairs
In his State of the Union address, President Reagan invited friends and allies of the United States to join the Space Station programme and emphasized the benefits of broad international co-operation. NASA Administrator James M. Beggs carried the President’s offer for international participation in Space Station planning to the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, the European Space Agency, Japan and Canada. The President reiterated his Space Station invitation at the London Economic Summit in June, and all participants agreed on the importance of the project for stimulating economic and technical growth. Three international workshops were held at NASA Headquarters to exchange information and plans. Negotiations for agreements to cover Phase B of the Space Station programme are proceeding 111
smoothly toward the beginning of co-operative activity in April 1985 when NASA begins its Phase B activity. In October, aboard STS mission 41-G, Canadian Marc Garneau became the second foreign payload specialist to fly on the Space Shuttle in keeping with President Reagan’s initiative to increase international co-operation. India and Indonesia formally agreed to fly payload specialists. IRAS, a joint project of NASA, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, identified additional stars with possible solar systems. The IRAS team also released the largest and most detailed catalogue of infrared celestial objects ever created. The Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorer (AMPTE) was launched in co-operation with the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom to gain new knowledge about the physical interactions of the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field. The FRG Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) flew for the second time, carrying the same experiment hardware as on STS-7. New materials science experiments were conducted and new Earth observations were made. SPAS was also used to duplicate the attitude and dynamics of the Solar Maximum satellite. NASA and the National Research Council of Italy signed agreements to begin the development of the Tethered Satellite System and the development and launch of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite-2 (Lageos-2). A communications satellite, Anik, was successfully launched for Canada. The perigee kick motor on an Indonesian communications satellite (Palapa B-2) failed after deployment, but the satellite was one of two that was later retrieved and returned to Earth. NASA participated in the major trade fair in Hanover, FRG, and took part in a US Space Technology Seminar and Exposition. A Hungarian instrument, the Thermoluminescent Dosimeter (TLD), under a cooperative agreement, flew successfully aboard Shuttle flight 41-G. The first meeting was held of a joint US-China working group on co-operation in space sciences and technology, and talks continued on flight projects in space science. Export licence for a Chinese Landsat ground station was approved. Under the “Pathfinder” agreement among NASA, ESA and the USSR, NASA continued preparations to track the USSR’s Venus-Halley (Vega) spacecraft to improve targeting of ESA’s Giotto spacecraft during the Comet Halley encounter in March 1986. NASA is also part of the French-led international network that will track two atmospheric balloons being dropped off during the Vega spacecraft’s Venus encounter in June 1985. Under the multilateral (US/Canada/France-USSR) Cospas/Sarsat search and rescue programme, two Sarsat (NOAA-8 and NOAA-F) and three Cospas satellites have been launched to date. NOAA-F, the most recent Sarsat-equipped spacecraft in the series was launched on 12 December. As of 3 December the system has been directly responsible for saving 341 lives. A new memoran112
dum of understanding was signed in October covering the transition to initial operational use of the system. With the commencement of the operational phase of the project, leadership of US responsibilities were transferred from NASA to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NASA scientists completed their data analysis activities associated with the Soviet Cosmos 1514 biosatellite mission with primates. The mission occurred in December 1983, and NASA provided technical support to assist Soviet scientists in obtaining cardiovascular and biorhythm measurements. An agreement was signed with France for a contingency landing site in French Polynesia. A contingency landing site agreement was also signed with the Spanish government. The French National Center for Space Studies announced the selection of a French payload specialist who will fly onboard the Shuttle in a February 1985 mission. The French payload specialist will conduct two life sciences experiments during the four day mission: an echograph to study blood circulation and a postural experiment to study the effect of weightlessness on neurosensory responses. The payload specialist and his back-up began training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, in October 1984. Educational Programmes
Space Shuttle mission 41-C carried 12.5 milllion tomato seeds and deposited them in space in a project called SEEDS (Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students). The seeds were carried in sealed aluminium canisters placed aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) which will be retrieved from space in early 1985. The SEEDS project will involve approximately four million students in 250 000 classrooms. In June, President Reagan announced a new NASA educational programme called Operation Liftoff. The new programme is designed to encourage pupils in the nation’s 76 000 elementary schools to take greater interest in mathematics and science. In July and August, NASA hosted a programme of educational workshops for pre-college teachers of mathematics and science at eight NASA centres. Nearly 200 teachers were involved in the project. The workshops were designed to increase the quality of instruction, as well as to broaden interest for students in mathematics and science. On 27 August President Reagan announced that the first citizen observer in space would be a teacher. Productivity
A NASA-sponsored productivity symposium was held in Washington, D.C., on 25 and 26 September. The purpose of the symposium was to increase the awareness of productivity and quality issues in the United States and to foster national initiatives through government and industry executive leadership. The symposium attracted leaders from more than 100 top companies, 35 government agencies and some 20 universities. During the symposium, 113
NASA announced the establishment of a new national award, the NASA Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity. Both large and small businesses involved in NASA programmes as prime contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers providing hardware, services and/or software are eligible. The first awards are expected to be presented in March 1986.
3.27. NASA/ROCKWELL AGREEMENT SIGNED’”
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Rockwell International Corp., Downey Calif. could provide future Shuttle flight assignments for on-orbit transport of the aerospace firm’s uniquely designed materials processing laboratory. Under the terms of the 180-day MOU, Rockwell will develop an industrial space processing programme in which the company’s modular zero-gravity laboratory would be made available to research institutions and commercial firms for installation and operation of developmental experiments. Experiment packages would involve a range of processing applications including liquid chemistry, fluid physics, thermodynamics, crystal growth and biological cell culturing. Rockwell’s laboratory, with an in-house company name of Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA), is designed for placement in stowage areas of the Shuttle’s mid-deck where it would be engaged and monitored by Shuttle crew members. The zero-G laboratory has interior dimensions of 18.6 in. by 14.5 in. by 7.4 in. and can carry 11 pounds of experiment hardware. The modular design permits easy configuration for almost all experiments. Optional sub-systems include fluid manipulation containers, bulk fluid chemistry chambers, living cell incubators and multisample columns. The laboratory is the first industrially developed laboratory to be made available to the scientific community and commercial firms permitting the proprietary pursuit of basic and product research in low-Earth orbit. The FEA was successfully space flown and operated last summer on Shuttle mission 41-D (30 August to 5 September 1984) when, using the float zone technique, a single indium crystal was grown with a lattice structure originating from a crystal seed. The space processing laboratory, designed at the company’s Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey has the functional capability to heat, cool, expose to vacuum and manipulate experiment samples which may be gaseous, liquid or solid. Samples can be mixed and stirred in containers or be processed semi-containerless in the float zone mode. Samples may be removed and changed during a mission, and a motion (“INASA News Release No. 85-2 of 7 January 1985.
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3.26. HIGHLIGHTS OF 1964 NASA ACTIVITIES”*’
For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the year 1984 proved to be a busy and productive one. Five Space Shuttle missions added to the already long list of space “firsts”: the first repair of a satellite in space; the first retrieval and return to Earth of two disabled satellites; the first satellite refuelling demonstration; the first flight of Discovery, the third Shuttle orbiter; the first Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; and the first space walk by an American woman. In the field of space science, two astronomers discovered a possible solar system revolving around the star Beta Pictoris, some 50 light years from Earth. Employing special optical and computer techniques, the astronomers, using a loo-inch telescope, photographed solid particles surrounding the star. Following President Reagan’s direction to NASA to develop a permanently manned Space Station within a decade, a Space Station programme office was established at NASA Headquarters and the Johnson Space Center, Houston, was designated the “lead centre” for definition and development. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation programme made significant strides towards establishing the world’s most advanced aerodynamic computerized facility to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of designing aircraft. An Office of Commercial Programmes was established at NASA Headquarters to support new commercial high technology ventures. The office is also tasked with supporting new commercial applications of existing technology and transferring existing space programmes to the private sector. Space Flight
The year 1984 saw fewer Space Shuttle launches than originally scheduled due to onboard systems problems during one of the planned launches and a larger refurbishment job than anticipated following one of the landings. There were five Shuttle missions, four Delta, one Atlas Centaur and one Atlas-F launch. NASA’s space vehicles placed three scientific, one weather, one Earth (“‘NASA
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observation and ten communications spacecraft into Earth orbit. Two of the communications satellites were later retrieved for repair. Three of the Shuttle flights were significant extensions of Earth orbit capabilities: the manned manoeuvring unit was flown for the first time allowing astronaut Bruce McCandless to become the first human satellite; the Solar Maximum Mission satellite was retrieved to the Shuttle payload bay and repaired and re-released into Earth orbit; and the wayward communications satellites, Westar VI and Palapa B- 2, were retrieved and returned to Earth for repair. NASA flew another new Shuttle orbiter, Discovery, and Shuttle orbiters landed at the Kennedy Space Center more times than at Edwards AFB including twice in a row during the Fall. Filament-wound solid rocket motor casings were tested successfully at Morton Thiokol’s facility in Utah. Commercial payload specialist Charles Walker from McDonnell Douglas Corp. flew to operate the company’s human biological sample seperation device in space. Space flight highlights in 1984 follow: 3 February: STS 41-B, Challenger. Vance Brand, Robert Gibson, Bruce McCandless II, Bob Stewart and Ron McNair crewed this flight which included the launch and retrieval of the German SPAS-01 subsatellite, the launch of the Westar VI and Palapa B-2 and the first flight of the manned manoeuvring unit. Westar and Palapa both failed to achieve proper transfer orbit due to PAM motor failure. First KSC landing on 11 February. I March: Delta launch of the Landsat 5 Earth resources survey satellite from the Western Space and Missile Center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This completed launchings in the Landsat series. 6 April: STS 41-C Challenger. Bob Crippen, Dick Scobee, George Nelson, Terry Hart and Jim van Hoften crewed the Solar Max repair mission which included the deployment of the Long Duration Exposure Facility. First repair of a satellite in orbit. Edwards landing on 30 April. 9 June: Atlas Centaur launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of Intelsat V-G. Due to upper stage malfunction, satellite failed to achieve proper orbit and was later deliberately re-entered by Comsat. I6 August: Delta launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Experiment (AMPTE), a joint US, British and German space physics mission involving three satellites. 30 August: STS 41-D, Discovery’s first flight, crewed by Hank Hartsfield, Mike Coats, Judy Resnik, Steve Hawley, Richard Mullane and Charlie Walker (first commercial payload specialist). Flight was postponed after initial launch problems and finally flown with combined cargo from two missions. Syncom IV-l, Telstar 3-C SBS-D were all successfully deployed from payload bay and OAST-1 solar array experiment was completed. Landing at Edwards AFB on 5 September. 105
21 September: Delta launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of Galaxy-C communications satellite. 5 October: STS 41-G, Challenger crewed by Bob Crippen, Jon McBride, Kathy Sullivan, Sally Ride, David Leestma, Marc Garneau and Paul ScullyPower. Successful launch of Earth Radiation Budget Satellite and successful operation of Large Format Camera and Shuttle Imaging Radar (B) for Earth surface science surveys. First flight of a Canadian, first two-woman flight, first on-orbit combination of Earth survey instruments with multi-discipline crew (Scully-Power as oceanographer, Sullivan as geologist), first American woman to walk in space and first use of Orbiter Refuelling System. Kennedy landing on 13 October. 8 November: STS 51-A, Discovery crewed by Rick Hauck, David Walker, Anna Fisher. Dale Gardner and Joe Allen. Successful deployment of Telesat H and Syncom IV-2 and successful retrieval of Westar. Double manned manoeuvring unit flights for retrieval operations. First flight of 3M Corporation’s space materials science laboratory. Landing at KSC on 16 November. 13 November: Delta launch from Eastern Space and Missile Center of NATO III-D communications satellite. f2 December: Atlas-F launch from Western Space and Missile Center of NOAA-F climate survey and weather satellite for NOAA. Space Science and Applications
Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., discovered that exposure to a gravity-free environment may alter basic mechanisms affecting normal bone growth and development. The results originated from studies being carried out on the effects of spaceflight on animals. 1 March 1984 marked the launch of a new second generation Earth resources satellite, Landsat 5. A backup to the ailing Landsat 4, the spacecraft is the fifth in the series to provide timely, accurate and reliable data on Earth resources. After completion of its orbital checkout and activation by engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt. Md, NASA turned over the satellite to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Three US aerospace firms were awarded eight-month, $1 million contracts to conduct satellite definition studies for TOPEX, an oceanographic satellite mission proposed by NASA. The three firms selected were Fairchild Industries, Germantown, Md; RCA Corp., Princeton, N.J.; and Rockwell International, Downey, Calif. Dr. Michael Lampton of the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr. Byron Lichtenberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, were chosen to fly as payload specialists on the first Earth Observation Mission (EOM), scheduled for launch aboard the Space Shuttle in 1985. The EOM missions are a series of experiments that will measure the makeup of 106
the Earth’s middle and upper atmosphere and variations in the Sun’s output during an 11-year period. On 18 May, ownership of the Viking 1 lander was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum, marking the first object on another planet to be owned by a museum. The lander returned countless amounts of data on the Martian environment after it landed on the “Red Planet” in 1976. The Hubble Space Telescope’s five scientific instruments underwent acceptance testing at Goddard Space Flight Center. Greenbelt, Md, in 1984. The instruments were the High Resolution Spectrograph, the Faint Object Spectrograph, the Wide Field/Planetary Camera, the Faint Object Camera and the High Speed Photometer. The acceptance testing represented completion of the most critical element of the final checkout steps for the instruments before they are assembled aboard the observatory, scheduled for launch in 1986. NASA awarded a contract to an industry team headed by RCA AstroElectronics Systems Group for the design, development and fabrication of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). Scheduled for launch from the Space Shuttle in 1989, ACTS will be equipped with advanced switching and processing techniques using multi-beam antennas operating in the 20 and 30 gigahertz bands. NASA announced the start of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), a new astronomy satellite project that will be launched into Earth orbit from the Space Shuttle in 1988. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., the mission will make the first all-sky survey in the extreme ultraviolet band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Two astronomers discovered a possible solar system revolving around the star Beta Pictoris, some 50 light years from Earth. Employing special optical and computer techniques, the astronomers, using a loo-inch telescope, photographed solid particles, called a circumstellar disc, surrounding the star. The NOAA-F satellite was launched aboard an Atlas-F on 12 December, after 13 unsuccessful tries due to weather problems and instrumentation failure. The satellite is one in a series of meteorological and environmental information observatories that will provide special instrumentation to assist in search and rescue operations around the globe. The Galilieo mission to Jupiter may conduct a flyby of the asteroid 29 Amphitrite in December 1986 on its way to Jupiter. A launch decision to conduct the asteroid flyby will be made after launch in May 1986. The Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorer (AMPTE) mission created an artificial comet on 27 December to study the solar wind and the magnetosphere that surrounds the Earth. The project is a joint venture involving Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Aeronautics NASA’s aeronautical research and technology development efforts continued to expand US capabilites in civil, military and general aviation, 107
contributing significantly to US world aviation leadership and to national security. These efforts covered the spectrum of research disciplines and flight testing. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation programme made significant strides toward establishing the world’s most advanced aerodynamic computational facility, capable of achieving one billion operations each second to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of designing aircraft. Business and commercial transport aircraft successfully demonstrated the NASA-developed natural laminar flow concept which can increase the flight efficiency of future aircraft. As the result of single cylinder diesel testing, diesel engines, with their multi-fuel capability, can now be considered for use in general aviation aircraft. Joint NASA/Department of Defense programmes continued to insure the superiority of US military aviation. These programmes include the F-15, F-16, F-111, X-29, oblique and X-wing research aircraft, the tilt rotor/JVX aircraft and the convertible engine concept demonstration. NASA continued aviation safety research in lightning strikes, wind shear, icing, fireworthy materials, seats and restraint systems and aircraft crashworthiness. Space Technology
NASA space research and development programmes provide a reservoir of advanced technologies to enable US leadership in space operations, exploration and applications. Technology disciplines include propulsion, energy conversion, computer science and electronics, materials and structures, and aerothermodynamics. Significant progress was made in technologies for advanced reusable Earth-to-orbit propulsion systems and for orbital transfer vehicle propulsion. Similar advances have been realized in conversion systems in the space nuclear reactor programme, photovoltaic energy systems, regenerative fuel cell technologies and in energy storage. Major accomplishments were achieved in operator controls and displays for development of future free-flying, two-armed tele-operators. The Long Duration Exposure Facility, carrying 57 technological experiments, was placed in Earth orbit for a one-year exposure to the space environment. The solar array and supporting experiments were tested in Earth orbital flight during 1984. The solar array was extended to its full lostorey height and retracted several times. The Feature Identification and Location Experiment flew in space, demonstrating advanced sensor technology. Tracking and Data
Space Tracking and Data Systems provided tracking, command, telemetry 108
and data acquisition support for NASA missions in science, applications, space transportation and aeronautics. These tracking and data systems are in transition from the traditional ground-station network support of low Earth-orbiting spacecraft to the new mode with the successful implementation of the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite in geosynchronous orbit. Two additional Tracking and Data Relay Satellites will be placed in orbit next year, permitting the advanced space network mode to become operational . NASA’s Deep Space Network also is being upgraded in support of spacecraft exploration of the distant planets. These changes will enable receipt of weaker signals, support an increasing variety of spacecraft and provide more precise navigation.
Spuce Station President Reagan, in his State of the Union message on 25 January 1984, directed NASA to develop a permanently manned Space Station within a decade. He also invited friends and allies of the United States to participate in the programme and called for commercial private sector involvement. The President followed up this directive with a request for $150 million for the Space Station in the fiscal year 1985 budget for NASA. Congress subsequently approved this request and added $5.5 million in earlier appropriations to make a total of $155.5 million for the Space Station in the fiscal year 1985. NASA’s plans call for the Space Station to be operational in the early 1990s. It will be capable of growth in both size and capability and is intended to operate for several decades, well into the 21st century. It will be assembled at an altitude of about 300 miles in an orbit which will take it 28.5 degrees north and south of the equator. The Space Station will include a number of pressurized modules, support a crew of six to eight people and have two or more unmanned free-flying platforms. Some platforms will be co-orbiting with the base Space Station and will be serviced from the Space Station. At least one of them will be in a high inclination or polar orbit and will be serviced by the Space Shuttle. All elements of the Space Station will be launched and tended by the Space Shuttle. The Space Station will be designed to permit evolutionary growth. As better information is obtained from experience and as new requirements arise, new capabilities will be added to the Space Station. In response to the President’s directive and following his budget request for fiscal year 1985, NASA, in 1984 designated Johnson Space Center, Houston, as the “lead centre” for the Space Station Programme; established seven intercentre teams to conduct advanced development activities for high potential technologies to be used in Space Station design and development; assigned 109
definition and preliminary design responsibilities to four of its centres; established a Space Station Programme Office at NASA Headquarters to provide overall policy and programme direction; issued a Request for Proposal to US industry for definition and preliminary design of the Space Station. Proposals from industry were received in November. NASA is reviewing these proposals and expects to make competitive contract awards for four “work packages” in the Spring of 1985. The definition and preliminary design contracts will extend for 18 months. Contracts for hardware development and construction are scheduled for award in 1987. For the purposes of the Request for Proposal, NASA has selected a Space Station reference configuration called the “power tower? The power tower is one of a family of configurations that uses similar elements or components. The power tower family is considered a starting point for definition studies but it is expected to undergo significant modifications as the studies progress. Contractors may offer modifications within the reference concept family or other preliminary designs. A major objective of the Space Station Programme is to bring about participation by international partners. Funding for such participation will be provided by other governments who would conduct their own definition and preliminary design programmes in parallel with the NASA activity. Nations indicating an interest in the Space Station Programme are Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Federal Republic of Germany, and Italy. The latter four are member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) which will represent them in their activities with NASA with respect to the Space Station. Three categories of possible international participation are envisioned. These are: users who define missions and utilize Space Station capabilities; developers who participate in the definition and development activities and who contribute to the Space Station capabilites; and operators who support the operational activities of the Space Station. In September 1984, representatives of the interested countries reviewed the NASA Request for Proposal for the Space Station definition and preliminary design. Later several international workshops were conducted during which NASA and the international representatives exchanged information on their activities and plans with respect to the Space Station. The potential for international participation was also discussed at the London Economic Summit where President Reagan explained the US programme to the Prime Ministers of the other countries attending the Summit meeting. Other important Space Station Activities during 1984 include the establishment of a scientific advisory committee chaired by Dr. Peter Banks of Stanford University. This committee will provide expert advice to NASA on how the Space Station can best serve the various scientific communities. NASA also organized an Advanced Technology Advisory Committee which is identifying automation and robotic technologies which could be used in the Space Station. 110
Commercial Use of Space
In his State of the Union address January 1984, President Reagan stated that “we will soon implement a number of executive initiatives . . . to promote private sector investment in space”. In NASA’s fiscal year 1985 authorization legislation, the Congress amended the NASA Space Act of 1958 to state that “the general welfare of the United States requires that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration seek to encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space:’ To implement these and other planned activities, NASA established the Office of Commercial Programmes. The office was formed to take an active role in supporting three types of initiatives: new commercial high technology ventures; new commercial applications of existing technology; and unsubsidized initiatives for transferring existing space programmes to the private sector. A key focus of the Office of Commercial Programmes is support for a broad programme of basic research to establish a broader and firmer foundation for commercial space activities. This research programme has been underway with the ongoing NASA programme in the materials sciences. The Office of Commercial Programmes expects to augment this effort by providing NASA assistance in partnership with industry and the university community to establish new research activities and programmes. The basic knowledge expected to result from these efforts will provide the understanding of what can be done in space that cannot be done on Earth. It will also provide a better understanding of processes which can lead to improvements in Earth-based manufacturing processes. The knowledge and understanding resulting from the basic research activities will be a catalyst for new ideas and increased attention being given to the potential commercial uses of space. In addition, an outreach programme, directed at non-aerospace firms which have little involvement in space, will help inform potential prospects of the existing research results and ongoing NASA research with potential commercial space applications. International Afsairs
In his State of the Union address, President Reagan invited friends and allies of the United States to join the Space Station programme and emphasized the benefits of broad international co-operation. NASA Administrator James M. Beggs carried the President’s offer for international participation in Space Station planning to the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, the European Space Agency, Japan and Canada. The President reiterated his Space Station invitation at the London Economic Summit in June, and all participants agreed on the importance of the project for stimulating economic and technical growth. Three international workshops were held at NASA Headquarters to exchange information and plans. Negotiations for agreements to cover Phase B of the Space Station programme are proceeding 111
smoothly toward the beginning of co-operative activity in April 1985 when NASA begins its Phase B activity. In October, aboard STS mission 41-G, Canadian Marc Garneau became the second foreign payload specialist to fly on the Space Shuttle in keeping with President Reagan’s initiative to increase international co-operation. India and Indonesia formally agreed to fly payload specialists. IRAS, a joint project of NASA, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, identified additional stars with possible solar systems. The IRAS team also released the largest and most detailed catalogue of infrared celestial objects ever created. The Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorer (AMPTE) was launched in co-operation with the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom to gain new knowledge about the physical interactions of the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field. The FRG Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) flew for the second time, carrying the same experiment hardware as on STS-7. New materials science experiments were conducted and new Earth observations were made. SPAS was also used to duplicate the attitude and dynamics of the Solar Maximum satellite. NASA and the National Research Council of Italy signed agreements to begin the development of the Tethered Satellite System and the development and launch of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite-2 (Lageos-2). A communications satellite, Anik, was successfully launched for Canada. The perigee kick motor on an Indonesian communications satellite (Palapa B-2) failed after deployment, but the satellite was one of two that was later retrieved and returned to Earth. NASA participated in the major trade fair in Hanover, FRG, and took part in a US Space Technology Seminar and Exposition. A Hungarian instrument, the Thermoluminescent Dosimeter (TLD), under a cooperative agreement, flew successfully aboard Shuttle flight 41-G. The first meeting was held of a joint US-China working group on co-operation in space sciences and technology, and talks continued on flight projects in space science. Export licence for a Chinese Landsat ground station was approved. Under the “Pathfinder” agreement among NASA, ESA and the USSR, NASA continued preparations to track the USSR’s Venus-Halley (Vega) spacecraft to improve targeting of ESA’s Giotto spacecraft during the Comet Halley encounter in March 1986. NASA is also part of the French-led international network that will track two atmospheric balloons being dropped off during the Vega spacecraft’s Venus encounter in June 1985. Under the multilateral (US/Canada/France-USSR) Cospas/Sarsat search and rescue programme, two Sarsat (NOAA-8 and NOAA-F) and three Cospas satellites have been launched to date. NOAA-F, the most recent Sarsat-equipped spacecraft in the series was launched on 12 December. As of 3 December the system has been directly responsible for saving 341 lives. A new memoran112
dum of understanding was signed in October covering the transition to initial operational use of the system. With the commencement of the operational phase of the project, leadership of US responsibilities were transferred from NASA to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NASA scientists completed their data analysis activities associated with the Soviet Cosmos 1514 biosatellite mission with primates. The mission occurred in December 1983, and NASA provided technical support to assist Soviet scientists in obtaining cardiovascular and biorhythm measurements. An agreement was signed with France for a contingency landing site in French Polynesia. A contingency landing site agreement was also signed with the Spanish government. The French National Center for Space Studies announced the selection of a French payload specialist who will fly onboard the Shuttle in a February 1985 mission. The French payload specialist will conduct two life sciences experiments during the four day mission: an echograph to study blood circulation and a postural experiment to study the effect of weightlessness on neurosensory responses. The payload specialist and his back-up began training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, in October 1984. Educational Programmes
Space Shuttle mission 41-C carried 12.5 milllion tomato seeds and deposited them in space in a project called SEEDS (Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students). The seeds were carried in sealed aluminium canisters placed aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) which will be retrieved from space in early 1985. The SEEDS project will involve approximately four million students in 250 000 classrooms. In June, President Reagan announced a new NASA educational programme called Operation Liftoff. The new programme is designed to encourage pupils in the nation’s 76 000 elementary schools to take greater interest in mathematics and science. In July and August, NASA hosted a programme of educational workshops for pre-college teachers of mathematics and science at eight NASA centres. Nearly 200 teachers were involved in the project. The workshops were designed to increase the quality of instruction, as well as to broaden interest for students in mathematics and science. On 27 August President Reagan announced that the first citizen observer in space would be a teacher. Productivity
A NASA-sponsored productivity symposium was held in Washington, D.C., on 25 and 26 September. The purpose of the symposium was to increase the awareness of productivity and quality issues in the United States and to foster national initiatives through government and industry executive leadership. The symposium attracted leaders from more than 100 top companies, 35 government agencies and some 20 universities. During the symposium, 113
NASA announced the establishment of a new national award, the NASA Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity. Both large and small businesses involved in NASA programmes as prime contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers providing hardware, services and/or software are eligible. The first awards are expected to be presented in March 1986.
3.27. NASA/ROCKWELL AGREEMENT SIGNED’”
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Rockwell International Corp., Downey Calif. could provide future Shuttle flight assignments for on-orbit transport of the aerospace firm’s uniquely designed materials processing laboratory. Under the terms of the 180-day MOU, Rockwell will develop an industrial space processing programme in which the company’s modular zero-gravity laboratory would be made available to research institutions and commercial firms for installation and operation of developmental experiments. Experiment packages would involve a range of processing applications including liquid chemistry, fluid physics, thermodynamics, crystal growth and biological cell culturing. Rockwell’s laboratory, with an in-house company name of Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA), is designed for placement in stowage areas of the Shuttle’s mid-deck where it would be engaged and monitored by Shuttle crew members. The zero-G laboratory has interior dimensions of 18.6 in. by 14.5 in. by 7.4 in. and can carry 11 pounds of experiment hardware. The modular design permits easy configuration for almost all experiments. Optional sub-systems include fluid manipulation containers, bulk fluid chemistry chambers, living cell incubators and multisample columns. The laboratory is the first industrially developed laboratory to be made available to the scientific community and commercial firms permitting the proprietary pursuit of basic and product research in low-Earth orbit. The FEA was successfully space flown and operated last summer on Shuttle mission 41-D (30 August to 5 September 1984) when, using the float zone technique, a single indium crystal was grown with a lattice structure originating from a crystal seed. The space processing laboratory, designed at the company’s Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey has the functional capability to heat, cool, expose to vacuum and manipulate experiment samples which may be gaseous, liquid or solid. Samples can be mixed and stirred in containers or be processed semi-containerless in the float zone mode. Samples may be removed and changed during a mission, and a motion (“INASA News Release No. 85-2 of 7 January 1985.
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